Father was in the army all through the First World War, so up to the age of five, I never saw much of him, and what I saw did not worry me. Sometimes I woke and there was a big figure (身影) looking down at me. Sometimes in the early morning I heard the closing of the front door and the sound of shoes walking down. These were father’s entrances and exits.

Each time he went away, he left me lots of presents―model tanks, knives and all sorts of military (軍隊的) equipment which he put in a long box. When he was not there, mother let me get a chair and search through his treasures. She did not seem to think so highly of them as he did.

    The war was the most peaceful period of my life. Every morning I awoke as soon as it was light and felt myself to be like the sun. Life never seemed so simple and clear and full of possibilities as then. I got up, went into mother’s room and climbed into the big bed. She woke and I began to tell her of my plans. I talked but then fell asleep and woke again only when I heard her below in the kitchen, making the breakfast.

    I often wondered what mother and I should do all day and what present I would get for Christmas. There was that little problem of the baby, for example. Mother and I could never agree about that. Ours was the only house in the street without a new baby, and mother said we could not buy one until father came back from the war as they were very expensive. That showed how simple she was. The Geneys who lived nearby had a baby, and everybody knew that they had hardly any money at all. Maybe it was a cheap baby, and mother wanted something really good, but I felt this did not really matter. The Geneys’ baby would have been fine for us.

41. Until the age of five, the writer ______.

   A. did not worry about his father             B. never saw his father

   C. often annoyed his father                     D. saw his father sometimes

42. When father was away, mother asked the writer to ______.

   A. put the presents aside                          B. go over the presents carefully

   C. get everything ready                           D. throw the presents away

43. When the writer woke up, he felt that ______.

   A. life was good        B. he was simple        C. life was uninteresting      D. he was funny

44. What happened as soon as he writer got into his mother’s bed?

   A. She went to make breakfast.                   B. He told her all his plans.

   C. She asked him about his plans                 D. He went to sleep

45. The writer’s mother said they could not have a baby because _____.

   A. there was a war on                                 B. there were too many babies in the street

   C. it costs a lot of money                            D. father was ill in the army

  This dictionary tells you about English words and how to use them in reading, writing and speaking English. It not only gives the meaning of words, it can also help you with spelling, word building, grammar and pronunciation.

To use your dictionary correctly, you will find two spellings for this word. “Colour” is used in British English, while “color” is used in American English. When there are differences between British and American spelling, the dictionary shows it with the word “BrE” for British English and “AmE” for American English.

The dictionary also helps you pronounce words correctly. If you turn to the inside back face, you will see all the phonetic letters (音標(biāo)) with some words to show you how they are pronounced. Just look at the inside back cover when you’re not sure how to say a word.

    The most important reason for using a dictionary is to find out the meaning of a word--its definition.

In this dictionary, the definitions have been written using only 2,000 words. This means that the definitions of even the most difficult words are simple and easy to understand.

36. ______ of the words in the dictionary have two spellings.

   A. All                   B. One         C. Few       D. Some

37. The AmE spelling of the Chinese word “顏色” in this dictionary is _____.

   A. colour              B. colar       C. color      D. corner

38. The phonetic letters helps you _____ each word correctly.

   A. understand       B. write       C. say         D. know

39. The Chinese meaning of “definition” here is _____.

   A. 詞性                B. 詞條       C. 詞義      D. 詞庫

40. How many words are there in this dictionary?

   A. Two thousand     B. One thousand    C. One hundred    D. We don’t know

    The prisoner (囚犯) had waited many months for help, but none had come. Now he felt he would do anything to 16 his freedom. But he could think of 17 ways of escape (逃脫). Over and over he said to himself that he was being 18 for no reason and that had not been 19 a chance to explain the events which made 20 appear that he had 21 something wrong.

    Then 22 night the guard who sat just outside the prisoner’s door fell 23. When he noticed this, the prisoner was 24 by a feeling of 25 . If he could move 26 and carefully enough, he might be 27 to lift the keys from the guard’s belt (皮帶) without 28 him, and so make his escape 29 he was discovered.

    Silently the prisoner moved 30 the guard. Very carefully he lifted the ring of keys from the guard’s belt. Then he turned and moved slowly towards the 31 . Could he work the lock from the 32 ? The door opened. Within two minutes he had 33 the yard and climbed the 34. Then he fled across the fields, free at last, and a smile of joy 35 to appear across his face.

it didn’t seem possible, but they carried on ______.

   A. to try      B. trying       C. try        D. tried

--I am going to get married, David.

 -- _______.

   A. That’s brilliant! When’s the big day?      B. Well done~! It’s brilliant.

   C. You lucky thing!                                       D. I am very sorry to hear that

--I’ve got your invitation.

 -- Oh, good. ______

   A. Can you come?    B. Thanks a lot     C. I’ll take it       D. May I help you?

 ______ the morning of the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom have to serve tea to their parents.

   A. In       B. At      C. To       D. On

The best man will _____ and toast the bride and groom at the banquet.

   A. make a speech     B. receive an invitation    C. contribute some money    D. attend a reception

They stole everything in my purse, _____ my credit card.

   A. included     B. to include       C. was including     D. including